Authorities have identified the man whose body was found floating in the Mississippi River on Wednesday.
Robert Edward Taylor, 55, of West St. Paul, had been missing since Dec. 31 when witnesses said they saw a man jump from the Smith Avenue Bridge in St. Paul. Recovery efforts by the St. Paul Fire Department and the Sheriff's Offices of Ramsey, Washington and Dakota counties at that time were unsuccessful, said Dakota County Chief Deputy Dave Bellows.
Two fishermen spotted the body in a back bay of the river near Wentworth Avenue in South St. Paul. Authorities recovered the body and later identified the man Taylor, Bellows said.
His death is believed to be a result of suicide, but the case remains under investigation by the Dakota County Sheriff's Office and the county Coroner's Office, Bellows said.
